General
The feral cat is a small carnivorous mammal. Its ancestor
is believed to be the African Wild Cat although many scientists think
this is simply a race of the European Wild Cat of Europe and Western
Asia. A feral cat is not a different breed of cat, merely a domesticated
cat which has become ‘wild’ and now fends for itself.
Cats come in a wide variety of colours and as highly adapted for
their role as stealthy hunters. Feral cats are somewhat omnivorous,
although they are carnivores by nature.
This means that they can eat domestic and farm birds, wild birds
and small rodents including domestic pests such as gerbils and hamsters.
The cat has learned to live alongside man and as such feral cats
can be found in or around man’s modern environments.
In a pest sense, this means office blocks, hospitals, prisons, schools,
warehouses, factories and similar properties.
Significance
The presence of feral cats can be detected by visual sightings of
adults and kittens, droppings, mewing or crying and of course,
by their characteristic smell.
They can be a threat to wildlife, urban pets and rural livestock.
Furthermore, they cause problems by damaging domestic refuse sacks,
leading to spillages etc.
